Scientific Creativity: Idealism versus Pragmatism

Abstract

The need for creativity in the sciences has, from time to time, been questioned. Thus, Ghassib’s (2010) argument that creativity is critical to performance in the sciences, and hence organizational effectiveness in a knowledge production economy, is important. Moreover, the proposition that scientific creativity is based on knowledge and conceptual combination is well founded. Nonetheless, the description of creativity in organizational settings provided is, ultimately, an idealistic image. The idealism leads to problems with regard to the assumptions made about (1) who does creative work; (2) the kinds of knowledge involved in creative work; (3) the processing operations people apply in working with this knowledge; and (4) the importance of the organizational setting in which this work occurs. The implications of these observations for preparing people for creative work in organizations are discussed.

Keywords:

• Creativity
• innovation
• scientists
• organizations

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael D. Mumford

Michael D. Mumford is the George Lynn Cross Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology at the University of Oklahoma where he directs the center for applied social research. He received his doctoral degree from the University of Georgia in 1983 in the fields of industrial and organizational psychology and psychometrics. Dr. Mumford is a fellow of the American Psychological Association (Divisions 3, 5, 14), the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the American Psychological Society. He has written more than 250 articles on creativity, innovation, planning, leadership, and ethics. He serves as senior editor of the Leadership Quarterly and is on the editorial boards of the Creativity Research Journal, the Journal of Creative Behavior, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, and the Journal of Business Ethics. Dr. Mumford has served as principal investigator on grants totaling more than 30 million from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Department of Labor, and the Department of State. He is a recipient of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology’s M. Scott Myers Award for Applied Research in the Workplace.

Kimberly S. Hester

Kimberly Hester is a doctoral student in the Industrial and Organizational Psychology Program at the University of Oklahoma. Her research interests include leadership, affect, creativity, and innovation.

Issac C. Robledo

Issac C. Robledo is a doctoral student in the Industrial and Organizational Psychology Program at the University of Oklahoma. His research interests include creativity, innovation, and leadership.